‘Loser’ a winner for NBC

Morning Ratings Flash - Rick Kissell

The finale of “The Biggest Loser 3″ won its two-hour time period in key demos Wednesday, a night that saw ABC produce more anemic numbers for its combo of “Show Me the Money” and “Day Break.”

According to preliminary nationals from Nielsen, “Biggest Loser” (4.8 rating/13 share in adults 18-49, 11.7 million viewers overall) produced NBC’s best non-Olympics result from 8 to 10 on a Wednesday since May 2004. This repped the show’s best scores of the season, although the finale came in below the second-season wrap of a year ago. The stronger showing earlier in the night helped “Medium” (3.7/10 in 18-49, 9.9 million viewers overall) to its best ratings of the season at 10, finishing second in its slot.

It was a real struggle, meanwhile, for ABC, whose “Show Me the Money” (1.6/5 in 18-49, 6.4 million viewers overall) and “Day Break” (1.4/4 in 18-49, 3.9 million viewers overall) combined for a fifth-place finish from 8 to 10 — behind the other major nets as well as Univision. Net also was well behind the pack at 10 with week two of limited news series “Primetime: Basic Instincts” (1.8/5 in 18-49, 4.4 million viewers overall).

CBS had another solid Wednesday, placing second in most demo categories to “Biggest Loser” with “King of Queens” (3.2/9 in 18-49, 9.1 million viewers overall) and “Criminal Minds” (4.7/12 in 18-49, 16.2 million viewers overall), with the latter the night’s most-watched program overall. The Eye also led easily at 10 with “CSI: NY” (4.9/14 in 18-49, 15.6 million viewers overall).

Fox ran third, led by “Bones” at 8 (2.9/8 in 18-49, 8.6 million viewers overall).